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Using Contensive Edit Tools

Contensive is a content engine that provides three primary functions

When a page is requested, it assembles the components of the page for the visitor.
It provides a flexible, extensible software interface for developers to add the tools needed for most online applications.
It provides an easy to use, consistent editing interface for designers and content managers to work with the site design and content over the life-cycle of the site.

It is this editing interface that will be covered in this article.

Content Storage in Contensive

To Contensive, all data is handled one of two ways, as files or as records. Data files are stored as actual files on the web server in a folder called the Content Files. Data files are either downloadable resources, like pdf documents or images, or they are text that could be so long it could not be stored in the database.

Content managed as data records are stored in a database. Each type of data in Contensive is described by a Content Definition. A Content Definition is similiar to database table, or to a worksheet in a spreadsheet program. The columns of the worksheet are called "Fields". The rows of the worksheet are called "Records".

For those familiar with databases, a Content Definition describes data that is stored as records in tables. Each Content Definition describes the data stored in exactly one table, though the data from many similar Content Definitions can all be stored in the same table.

An example of a Content Definition is Page Content. Each page of the website is a different record of the Content Definition, stored in a table described by the Definition. The many parts of a page, like the menu headline, are stored as fields of the table.

Editing Content

Since Contensive treats all content the same, there is only one editing process. Once you know how to edit "records", you can edit anything associated with the site.

There are two primary screens you use to edit content, the Listing Screen, and the Edit Screen.

The Listing Screen

The Listing Screen displays several selected fields (columns) from up to 50 records (rows). The purpose of the listing screen is to help you locate the record(s) you wish to view or modify. This is a list of the basic features of the listing page.

User selectable rows
Sorting by any row
A simple Find feature to search all records for matches
A filter to help you isolate groups of records
An advanced search feature to find specific criteria of a group of records.
An edit icon for each record.

When you locate the record you want to edit, click the edit icon to start the Edit Screen.

The Edit Screen

You can get to the edit screen by clicking an edit icon on the Listing Screen, or any other place on the site. The edit screen lets you manage any editable field in the record. The record is divided into tabs to separate the different functional elements of the record.

For instance, when editing a Page Content record, fields related to how the record appears in menus are in teh "Menuing" tab.

Buttons at the top and bottom of the page are used to save the changes. In Workflow Authoring there are buttons to submit, approve, abort and publish changes. In Immediate Authoring, the buttons are to save and cancel changes.

When you hit the cancel or OK button, you are returned to the page where you hit the edit icon.

This page was last reviewed Saturday, April 11, 2009